1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device for a computer and, more specifically, to a device for mounting speakers to a portable computer that increases the effect of the sound generated by speakers.
2. Background Art
A recent trend in personal computing has been toward the multimedia computer that provides high quality audio and video output. Such systems have typically included a pair of add-on speakers which are placed near the monitor and plugged into a sound board in the computer. Unfortunately, the use of add-on speakers consumes valuable desktop space and requires separate re-orientation of the monitor and the speakers when a user desires to change position. Furthermore, portable or notebook computers have become a popular alternative to traditional desktop computers, largely due to their superior movability, simplicity, and convenience. Portable computers are often equipped with various peripheral devices that aid in achieving a multimedia effect. These portable computers use speakers to reproduce sound generated by the sound system within the computer. Furthermore, the typical sound system has been improved to support stereophonic or three-dimensional stereophonic, and the speakers are usually incorporated into the main body of the portable computer. The speakers built into the portable computer are generally kept at an interval that facilitates simulating a stereophonic effect.
Some techniques for integrating speakers with a computer system are shown, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,588,063 to Edgar entitled Personal Multimedia Speaker System, U.S. Pat. No. 5,666,263 to Mandate entitled Attaching a Speaker to a Computer Component, U.S. Pat. No. 5,583,743 to Levins entitled Appliance Housing and Speakers Mounted Thereto, U.S. Pat. No. 5,576,930 to Kuo entitled Rack Pair Mounting Speakers and System Board in a Monitor of a Computer System, U.S. Pat. No. 5,519,572 to Luo entitled Computer Peripheral Apparatus, U.S. Pat. No. 5,701,347 to Daniels entitled Audio System for a Personal Computer, U.S. Pat. No. 5,190,258 to Yu entitled Articulated Support Assembly, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,623,391 to Chase entitled Speaker Cover and Snap-In Coupling Therefor. Contemporary speakers used with laptop computers are limited in the distance that the speakers can be separated from each other during operation without using wires to connect the speakers to the monitor.
I believe it may be possible to improve on the contemporary art by providing a device for attaching speakers to a portable computer's monitor, that is extendable to vary the distance between the speakers, that allows both the device and the attached speakers to be retracted flush with the computer to allow the portable computer and the associated speakers to be easily shipped and stored, that may be constructed with rigid components to connect the speakers to the monitor while avoiding the problem of tangled wires and imprecise symmetrical positioning, that doubles as a locking mechanism to secure the display section of the portable computer to the main housing when the portable computer is in a closed position, that does not require the use of wires exclusively to connect the speakers to the monitor, that connects to the monitor to allow for better audio and visual synchronization, and that enhances the stereophonic qualities of the speakers.